Uh oh— it’s that time of year. Did you know that about 6 percent of us suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD)? The “winter blues” can cause extreme tiredness, an intense craving for carbs (especially sweets), irritability, weight gain and the desire to avoid social situations.
Luckily we can go into damage control, and a great way to combat SAD is through your diet! Avoiding sugars, eating lots of omega-3 fats, foods containing tryptophan, folic acid, lean proteins and unprocessed foods are excellent for boosting your mood and energy. Here are the top foods that you should be sneaking into your daily diet.
Dark leafy greens
Dark chocolate
Blueberries
Walnuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds
Salmon, trout, mackeral
Turkey, chicken breast, pumpkin (all great sources of tryptophan)
Sooooo here comes my endless summer balls to save the day.
SUMMER PROTEIN BALLS
Ingredients
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup flaxseeds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup shredded Coconut
1 scoop (21g) of Collagen Beauty Greens by Vital Proteins (this can be substituted for another brand green supplement)
2 scoops (60g) vanilla vegan protein powder
Directions
1. Take a medium-sized mixing bowl and combine the collagen greens, coconut and protein powder
2. In a blender, quickly whiz around the seeds, walnuts and blueberries until combined.
3. All the contents of the blend to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
4. Time to start ballin’! Take a tbs of the mixture at a time and start rolling the balls, the balls should be about 1 inch in diameter. After they are rolled roll them again in cacao powder to help seal them up.
5. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and say a giant buh-byeeeeee to S.A.D
